Packaging apparatus and method



y 1, 1952 H. HANSEN 2,601,944

PACKAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed May 16, 1949 :21: n as. u u a 1 d was I.

'INVENTO. HENRY HANSEN 1;- lg \IS I 9 )5w% ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PACKAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD Henry Hansen, Fresno, Calif., assignor to Fewel Bros. Packing 00., Fresnmcalifua co-partnership Application May 16, 1949, Serial No. 93,549

11 Claims. (01. 226 22) This invention relates to packaging devices,

and more particularly, to a device for filling, settling and measuring the content of cartons, bags or other containers. In general, the common practice heretofore in using automatic packaging devices has been to Orient the individual containers at predetermined stations and fill the same with a measured quantity of material from an automatic feeder. Such feeders generally have weighing devices incorporated therein and are necessarily expensive to make to effect the required degree of accuracy.

If tamping or settling is required to pack the contents of such containers to the degree of density desired, this process has heretofore been done by a separate settling process in which the carton is vibrated or jarred in some manner.

In the packaging of some materials it is desirable, because of the characteristics of the material to be packaged, that the process of tamping and settling thecontentsbe carried outso that the contents are evenly distributed within the container, but at the sametime, not so tightly packed that removal of the contents by the consumer becomes difficult.

For example in the packaging of raisins it is desirable that the inherently sticky contents are not so tightly packed that they become a solid mass conforming to, the shape of the container, making partial removal of the same a difficult and irritating procedure.

Furthermore, in the packaging of raisins and similar fruit, accurate measurement of the fruit before inserting the same in packages is difficult because such fruit, unlike granular material, does not pour or flow easily and must be constantly vibrated to keep the same moving through the feeding machinery. v, 1 r

One ofthe objects of this invention is the provision of an automatic packaging machine for filling containers which is inexpensiv to'make and which permits accurate measurement of the contents of such containers without the use of expensive weighing-devices.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automatic packaging device which permits filling the containers without requiring special means for orienting each container with respect to the feeding device.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an inexpensive device which is adapted to measure the contents of container and settle the same in one operation.

And yet, another object of the invention is the provision of an 'automatici packaging device whichpermits the operation of .filling,,settling and measuringto be don while the containers are in adjoining relationship thus obviating'much of the machinery heretofore employed for positioning the container with respect to the feeding device.

Other objectsand advantages will be apparent from the specifications and drawings in which the device. willbe described in .connectionwith the packaging of raisins although itwill be apparent that the invention will lend itself to the packaging of other types of material.

Fig. 1 is a semi-schematic top planvi'ew of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the invention as taken along lines 22 of Fig. 1.,with a package and certain elements being shOWn in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a semi-diagrammatical vertical crosssectional view of a.portion of the invention as taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an. enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the invention as taken along lines'4-4 of Fig. 1 with the belt pulleys not shown for clarity.

The invention comprises a pair of horizontally spaced, horizontally extending vertically disposed endless belts I, 2 having parallel adjacent runs between which a plurality of upright cartons 3 are adapted to be frictionally held in adjoining relationship (Fig. l). The cartons 3 which are fed between the belts I, 2 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, should preferably be pushed between the belts so that the leading side of one carton is in direct engagement with the trailing side of the preceding carton. As a practical matter this may be done by feeding the cartons coming from the carton-making machine down an incline (not shown). towards the belts or by carrying the cartons towards the belts on a conveyor which is slightly fasterthan belts I, 2 or in any other convenient manner.

The belts I, 2 are driven by a pair of vertically disposed pulleys 4, 5 which. in turn, are driven by vertical shafts E, '1 respectively (Fig. 3,). The shafts 6, I are rotatably supported at their upper ends in bearings B which in turn, are secured to table 9. Saidshafts 6,. I are rotatably supported near their lower ends in bearings II) which may be secured to the floor by means of brackets I I.

Shafts 6, I are each provided with a bevelgear I2, I3 respectively secured thereon at their lower ends and which gears are driven-by bevelgears I i, I5. on ahorizontal shaft I6. The shaft I6 is driven by anelectricmotor I! through a reducer 18 (Fig. 1) and a bevel gear I!) which coacts with a bevel gear 23 on shaft I6. Bearings 2i rotatably support the shaft l6.

When the cartons 3 are disposed between belts l, 2 their bottom sides rest on a relatively small round rod 25 which in turn, is supported on table 9. When the cartons 3 move out of engagement with belts l, 2 their bottom sides are continuously supported on the rod 25 (Fig. 2) which rod extend longitudinally of the row of cartons and in the direction of their movement. Equally spaced from the rod 25 at a level above the latter and parallel thereto are a pa r f ed s 25 which serve to support the sides of the cartons adjacent their lower ends against lateral movement of the same. In like manner, a pair of rods 21 above rods 26 and adjacent the upper end of the carton support the cartons 3 against lateral movement and against tilting of the cartons on rod 25.

These rods 25, 25, 21 extend from the table 5 to a, horizontally disposed, horizontally extending conveyor belt 28 (Fig. 1) which serves to carry the cartons away after the same have been filled and have passed off rod 25.

For the purpose of providing a backing means for the belts I, 2 and to permit adjustment of the distance between the adjacent runs of said belts a pair of shoes 65 are adjustably secured to table 9. Each of these shoes 55 comprises a rectangular bar adapted to engage one of the belts l, 2 along the inner face of the same so that any pressure bearing on the belts in a direction transverse of the rod 25 will be resisted by said shoes. The shoes 65 are flared outwardly adjacent their ends as shown in Fig, 1 to prevent the said ends from engaging the moving belt.

Each of the shoes 65 is provided adjacent one of its ends with a clip 58 having a horizontally disposed leg 61 provided with an elongated slot 68 to receive a bolt 65. By means of this arrangement the shoe 65 may be firmly but detachably secured to the table 9 parallel to the belts I, 2.

Adjacent the other end of each shoe is a stud H rigidly secured as by welding to shoe 65 centrally of its width and perpendicular thereto. Spaced from the shoe 65 and rigidly secured to the table 9 by bolt 12 is another clip l3 having an upstanding leg M apertured to receive stud i I. The clip 73 and shoe 65 are yieldably held apart by helical spring i5 which may be inserted on stud H coaxial therewith. A nut 16 threadedly engaging the free end of stud it provides means for adjusting the compression in spring '1'5.

By the above described shoe arrangement it is apparent that adjustment may be made as desired for the spacing between shoes 65 to suit containers of various widths. At the same time this arrangement insures a constant lateral pressure on the containers which pressure provides the required friction to permit the movement of belts I, 2 to move the containers along rod 25 in the direction of their travel.

Adjacent the leading end of belts I, 2 is a, conventional feeder 39 provided with any suitable vibrator 32 which continuously dispenses the raisins to be packaged into a trough 3| from which the raisins pass downwardly by gravity into the cartons 3. The trough 3! is supported on a conventional vibrator 33 (Fig. 3) which vibrates the trough at all times.

Such a vibrating feeder and trough are used when the material to be packaged is somewhat sticky such as raisins, but it is obvious to those skilled in the art that any type of continuous mechanical feeder such as are commonly used in the industry may be employed depending upon the material being handled. Such feeders are normally accurately adjustable so that a feeding rate may be established which results in the cartons 3 being completely filled after they pass the trough 3|. As hereinbefore explained, overflowing of the cartons is not objectionable but such overflowing may be kept to a minimum by adjusting the feeding rate of feeder 35. No claim is made herein to any invention with respect to the feeder and trough themselves.

When the filled cartons pass the trough 3! the raisins are piled somewhat higher than the flnished vertical dimension of the carton 3 as indicated by the dotted line 32 in Fig. 2.

Intermediate the feeder 3-2 and conveyor 28 and on the side of the cartons opposite from the feeder is a horizontally disposed circular plate 34 rigidly secured to a vertical shaft 35 (Fig. 2). The shaft 35 is supported for rotation at its lower end in bearing 36 and at its upper end in hearing 31 which in turn, is rigidly secured to a table 33 by means of bracket 39.

The shaft 35 is driven by a bevel gear 49 on horizontal shaft 4|. Gear coacts with a bevel gear 42 on shaft 35. The horizontal shaft ii may be rotatably mounted in bearing 43 which in turn, is rigidly secured to bracket 39.

Shaft is provided with a sprocket wheel 35 which is driven by a sprocket chain 46 connected with sprocket wheel ll on shaft 16.

Depending from the bottom side of plate 3 3 and rigidly secured thereto are four elongated cylindrical pins 52, each of which is preferably provided with a rubber covering 5| to minimize noise. Upon rotation of the plate 34 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, these pins 58 deflect the free end of a vertically disposed flat spring 52 (Fig. l), which is rigidly secured to support 53 which in turn, is secured to the table 38 (Fig. 2). The solid line position of the spring 52 in Fig. 1 indicates the extreme deflection of the same towards the carton 3 while one dotted line position indicates the extreme deflection away fromthe carton. The actual amplitude of the spring 52 is somewhat exaggerated for clarity.

The spring 52 is secured at one end to the support 53 by means of screws 54 (Fig, 2) and is bent slightly adjacent the support 53 so that it slopes slightly towards the cartons 3 as at 55 (Fig. 1), and then is bent slightly back upon itself as at 56. The free end of spring 52 terminates in two right angle bends forming a portion 51' which is substantially perpendicular to portion 56 and a portion 58 is generally parallel to portion 56. In operation, the portion 58 engages the pins 50 as the plate 34 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, so that the portion 56 moves towards the cartons 3 and urges the latter away from the wheel 34. As the pins move off the free end of the spring 52 the spring is released and tends to vibrate due to the deflection back towards the cartons 3 the spring imparts a sharp impact to the lid of the cartons 3 (Figs. 1, 2). This impact on the lid results in some of the raisins being ejected out of the carton. These raisins may be received by a hopper 6| placed under the carton 3 and which hopper may also receive the overflow raisins from feeder 30. In addition to ejecting some of the excess raisins the spring 52 causes the carton 3 to move laterally and depending upon the exact point of contact of the springwith'respect tothe carton, the carton 3 will vibrateslightly; between the rods 21, 26, thus causing a settling of the contents of the same. It shouldbe'noted that the energy of the vibrating springwill be-substantially absorbed) by the carton due to the characteristic yielding qualities of cardboard cartons and like packages. Thus the spring 52 will be substantially stationary when engaged by the next .pin. If the spring continues-to vibrate until the next pin is engaged, the rubber covering 5| on the-pins 5!] will prevent undesira able noise.

It is preferable that? the'. portionit-of spring 52 strike each of "the cartons; approximately con:- trally, of the horizontal lengthofr the same. 'It is obvious that the speed of. rotation of the plate 34 may beproportioned'to the speed of rotation of the belts l, 2' so that.this resultmay be effected; For example if 'N'represents the R; P; M. of .pulleys 4, 5" andR equals. the outside radius of the belts as' they engage the pulleys, and L equals the length of a package in the direction of.its motion, then:

Cartons per minute-Jail Assuming n to bethe speed of rotationof. the plate 34 to give theabove result, and also assuming that therearefour pins 50:

From this formula the number of. teeth in I sprocket wheels 45, 4'! may be-determined along with the radius of pulleys 4, 5 so that the spring 52- will engage each carton.

Thus, it is seen that the device herein disclosed provides a-simple means for continuously filling, settling, and measuring the contents of the cartons. In this connection it should 'be noted that the weight of the contents of the cartons may be predetermined byexperimentation with whatever carton is to be used. It is well known that the weight of such cartons is generally determined by volumetric measure when a uniform filling, process is employed. In theinstant case the uniformity in the described steps of piling up the contents, ejecting the excess: and causing settling at the same time the described process doesnot resultin settling the raisins to such. an extent that they are -too tightly packed to be readily removed by the consumer;

It is obvious that modifications may bemade to the device to suit various types of contents, for example, if the carton is not provided with the type of lid shown in Fig. 2, the spring 52 may be made to engage the carton at alower point along the side of the'carton. The spacing between the rods 21 and 2.6 may be changed to affect the settling of the contents and the impact of the spring may be modified by varying its length, material or thickness.

It should be noted the belts when arranged as shown, push the cartons along the rod 25 and no other power meansis required for moving the containers until the same are engaged by the conveyor belt 28. This simple arrangement is possible because the invention herein described permits filling the cartons without the use of weighing devices.

I claim:

1. The method of filling cartons having side walls and an open top including a closure flap 6. on one of said side walls in upper extension thereof with discrete objects of: thejsame kind that-comprises-the steps of supporting said cartons in a-horizontally extendingrow for movement in a path in one direction longitudinally of said'row, filling. said cartonsrwithsaid objects at a point along said path to .a heaping level above the level of the upper edges of said side walls while said cartonsare moving in said path, then removing a substantial number of the objects that are above. said level-of said upper edges by impartin a. sharp. laterally directed blow against each of said cartons.

2 The method- 0f filling cartons having side walls: andan opentop. including a, closure flap onone: of saidsideiwalls in Upper extension: thereofwith discrete objects: ofthe same kind that comprisesithe steps of supporting saidcartons in a horizontally extending row for movement in apath in one: direction longitudinally of said row, filling said cartons with said objects at a point along saidpath; toa heaping level above the'levelofqthe upper edges of said sidewalls while-said cartons are moving in said path, then removing. a; substantial number of the objects: that: are; above said -,level of said upper edgesby impartinga sharplaterallydirected blow against each of said;cartons,. as-saidcartons. are moving along said path.

3. The method of filling cartons having side walls andanopen top includinga closure flap on one of said side walls in-upper extension thereof with discrete objects of. the same kind that comprises thesteps of-supportingsaid cartons ina horizontally extending row for movement in a path inone direction longitudinally ofsaid row, fillingsaid' cartons with said objects at a point along said-path to a-heapinglevelabove the level Of. the upper edges ofsaid side walls while said cartons are moving in said path, then removing a: substantial number of the objects that are abovesaid level of said upper edges by imparting a. sharp laterally directed blow against the side of saidgfiap that faces away from the objects in said icartonsthat are above said upper level of said side walls.

4. The method of filling cartons having side walls and an open top including a closure flap-on one ofisaid side walls in. upper extension thereof with .discrete objects of the same kind that comprises the steps of supporting said cartons in a horizontally extending row for movement in a path in onedirection longitudinally of said row. filling. saidcartons withisaid objects t a point along said path to a level abovethe level of the upper edges of said side: walls while said cartons are moving in said path, then removing a substantiai number of said objects that are above said level of said upper edges and causing said vibration forsettling the remainder by imparting a sharplaterally directedblow against each of saidcartons.

5. In apparatus for measuring and settling the contents of. containers each of which includes side wallspand, an open top with a top closure in upward extension of one of said side walls and which contents is inthe form of relatively small discrete objects, a conveyor for supporting a row of such containers upright thereon for movement longitudinally of said row in one direction in a generally horizontal path ofv travel, a filler along said path for filling said containers through their open upper sides to a heaping level above the level of the upper edges of said side walls, a striker alongside said path supported for quick lateral movement into engagement with each container for delivering a lateral impact to each container as it passes said striker during its movement along said path for causing a substantial amount of said objects above said edges to be ejected from each container and means for so causing said lateral movement of said striker.

6. In apparatus for measuring and settling the contents oi containers each of which includes side walls and an open top with a top closure in upward extension of one of said side walls and which'contents is in the form of relatively small discrete objects, a conveyor for supporting a row of such containers upright thereon for movement longitudinally of said row in one direction in a generally horizontal path of travel, a filler along said path for filling said containers through their open upper sides to a heaping level above the level of the upper edges of said side walls, an element at a point alongside said path supported for lateral vibratory movement into'engagement with each of the containers as each container is moved in said path past said point, means for causing said movement for jolting each carton in a lateral direction to effect ejection of a substantial amount of said contents that is above said level of said upper edges and to settle the contents within said containers.

7. In apparatus for settling the contents of containers each of which includes side walls and a bottom wall,'aconveyor" for supporting a row of such containers "thereon for movement longitudinally of said row in one direction ina' generally horizontally extending path of travel, means for causing said movement, a spring arm stationarily anchored at one end with the opposite end free for swinging laterally into engagement with each container, and means positioning said arm for said movement, an arm engaging member engageable with said arm for tensioning said arm and for quickly releasing said arm after said tensioning thereof to eiiect said swinging of said free end of said arm and engagement between each container and said free end of said arm upon each container being moved along said path past said arm.

8. In apparatus for settling the contents of containers each of which includes side walls and a bottom wall, a conveyor for supporting a row of such containers thereon for movement longitudinally of said row in one direction in a generally horizontally extending path of travel, means for causing said movement, spring arm stationarily anchored at one end with the opposite end free for swinging laterally into engagement with each container, and means positioning said arm for said movement, an arm engaging member engageable with said arm for tensioning said arm and for quickly releasing said arm after said tensioning thereof to effect said swinging of said free end of said arm and engagement between each container and said free end of said arm upon each container being moved along said path past said arm, said arm engaging means being movable generally toward said path and toward the containers thereon during the tensioning of said arm, and said arm being engageable with said container in said path adjacent thereto during said tensioning of said arm for-moving each container so engaged against the guide member at the side of said path opposite said arm during tensioning of said arm.

9. Apparatus for filling containers with raisins and for settling the raisins in said containers comprising a support for slidably supporting [a horizontally extending row of containers upright thereon with an open side of each container directed upwardly for receiving raisins therein, c'on tainer engaging means for so sliding the containers of said row in side by side engaging relationship over said support, a continuous raisin feeder over said row for. feeding raisins into the upper open ends of the containers passing said feeder, a striker adjacent said row periodically laterally vibrated against each carton after each carton has been filled and has passed said feeder, means for effecting said vibration of said striker.

10. In an apparatus for measuring and settling the contents of containers, a conveyor for supporting upwardly opening containers for continuous movement in one direction along a path of travel, filling means for filling said containers above the finished vertical dimension of the same, means for. imparting a horizontally directed impact to each of said containers after said containers have been so filled whereby surplus contents or" said containers will be ejected and the remaining contents settled, said conveyor comprising a pair of vertically disposed belts adapted to frictionally engage a plurality of containers therebetween for movement of the same along said path and out of engagement with said belts indirectly engaging single file relationship. Q 1

11. In a packaging device for filling containers and measuring the contents of the same, an elongated frame adapted to support a plurality of container for movement longitudinally of said frame, a pair of vertically disposed belts adapted to frictionally engage upwardly opening containers therebetween for moving the same in adjoining single file relationship in one direction longitudinally of said frame, feeding means for filling said containers above the finished vertical dimension of the same, means for imparting an impact to each of said containers in a direction transversely of said frame after the containers have beenso filled for ejecting the surplus contents of said containers and for vibrating said containers within said frame for settling the contents of said containers, said means comprising a flexible element and a rotating member operatively connected with said belts for intermittently vibrating said element into engagement with said containers.

HENRY HANSEN.

REFERENES CITED The following references are of record in the file'of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 720,053 McKibben Feb. 10, 1903 868,605 Heybach Oct. 15, 1907 935,506 Heybach Sept. 28,1909

1,777 ,224 Reuther Sept. 30, 1930 2,458,387 Kindseth Jan. 4, 1949 

